Swinney defends Sturgeon’s record against accusations of failure

First Minister John Swinney has defended the record of Nicola Sturgeon from attacks by the Scottish Conservative leader.

The former first minister announced on Wednesday she will not be standing in next year’s Holyrood election.

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Russell Findlay hit out at her record, which he described as a “vast back catalogue of failure”.

“I’ll start with Scotland’s once world-leading education system,” he said.

“A system now more interested in teaching pupils about feelings and pronouns than literacy and numeracy.

“She is responsible for plummeting league table placements for Scotland and she’s responsible for failing Scotland’s poorest pupils.”

Mr Findlay claimed the gap remains “as wide as the Clyde” and said her government – in which Mr Swinney was education secretary – had “failed a generation of young people”.

Mr Swinney rejected the assertion, saying while the attainment gap has not been closed he is “proud” that more people from deprived backgrounds are going to university.

But Mr Findlay said the First Minister was “proud of failure”.

The Scottish Tory leader added: “If there’s a single word that defines Nicola Sturgeon and her politics, it is division.”

He pointed to her push for independence and her proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act and allow for gender self-identification, saying she “trampled on women’s rights”.

“She led a government which introduced the Domestic Abuse Act, which made psychological abuse and controlling behaviour a crime. I’m proud that this Government took that action to bring that legislation into this Parliament.”

Mr Swinney also touted the Sturgeon government’s support for making free period products available in public places – a Bill which was introduced by Labour MSP Monica Lennon and initially opposed by ministers – as well as ensuring a gender balance on the boards of public bodies and the appointment of the first gender-balanced Scottish cabinet.

“One of the other things that she did that I think was particularly important is that she led the campaign against the despicable rape clause that was presided over by the Conservative government in London,” the First Minister added.

But Mr Findlay insisted that by “any honest assessment”, Ms Sturgeon “has failed Scotland”.

He added: “She divided our country, she betrayed women, broke her promises to pupils, launched a ferry with painted on windows, raised taxes, alienated business, allowed drugs deaths to spiral to the worst in Europe.

The Better Together campaign – which was ultimately successful in pushing for Scotland to remain in the UK – was run by Blair McDougall, who went on to become a Labour MP at last year’s election, and fronted by former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling, with heavy involvement from Labour, the Tories and the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Mr Swinney’s defence of his former boss, the Scottish Tory leader claimed, is a case of “yesterday’s man standing by yesterday’s woman”.

Responding, the First Minister said: “Russell Findlay has just scraped the bottom of the barrel with the type of toxic personality politics that have become the character of the Conservative Party in Scotland.

“There was not a single suggestion of how Scotland could be improved in that question.

“Not a single example of how the Conservatives – after inflicting 14 years of austerity on this country, of busting the public finances with that stupid and reckless budget that Liz Truss presided over, that Russell Findlay wanted me to emulate – not a single suggestion of how to improve Scotland for the better.

“I think the more the people of Scotland look at the Scottish Conservatives, the more they will see a party that is toxic in everything that it says.”

A source close to the former first minister – who was seen laughing and joking through Mr Findlay’s comments – said: “Nicola Sturgeon has more talent and class in her pinky than Russell Findlay has in his entire body.”